The truck crash almost killed Gold Rush crew member

Gold Rush star Tony Beets got into legal trouble for this stunt. On an episode of the hit Discovery series, someone poured gasoline onto a nearby murky pond. Beets allowed the person to do it. That same person set fire to the area and let it create a fire.

Beets stood in front of the fire with a look of approval across his face. However, it’s that same stunt that cost him. He landed into trouble with the Yukon court system. Though mining is hard work and serious work, the miners can make mistakes that can cost the environment and their jobs.

Tony Beets claims it was a “joke gone bad”

The court filings revealed that both Beets and his team violated the Yukon Waters Act. Not only did they dump the gasoline and set the fire, but they also failed to report it. Beets had to pay his share of legal fees. He paid $1,725 in fines for allowing the dumping of gasoline in the pond. Beets wanted to make a statement since it was his last day on the job.

The Gold Rush star admitted that the stunt was his idea. He claimed that it was a “joke gone wrong.” Beets felt he could handle the stunt since he was a team leader. Both he and his company, Tamarack Inc, paid upwards of $31,000 to the Yukon territorial court.

“Since I am the man running the show, I guess I should have been a little bit more and told him not to do it,” Beets admitted. “However, I didn’t do that, so here you are in court, so take the fine. Next time, don’t go there. It’s kind of a joke gone bad, right?”

Sometimes, it doesn’t pay to break the law. Or, you’ll end up paying out of pocket. Beets should’ve found a safer stunt to pull on his last day. Yet, that’s not the only moment on the show that went too far.

The truck crash almost killed Gold Rush crew member

There was another moment that happened that wasn’t a stunt. In Season 9, Episode 18 titled “Make It Rain,” Rick Ness was trying to patch up the freezing mud before the cold temperatures go to it first. Ness got upset with Mother Nature. He screamed, “F*** you, ice!” and brought in another truck. He hoped that would help speed things up.

Unfortunately, the situation was unmanageable. The driver of the vehicle loses control of the truck on the slippery road. His vehicle crashed into another vehicle where the crew member was filming with just a GoPro camera. She holds on for dear life, as the collision crashes into the vehicle that she’s standing on.

She ends up falling to the ground. Thankfully, she walked away with a minor injury. The dangerous crash almost ended her life. This incident was so hard on Ness that he had to end the day early to avoid any other near-death accidents.